I was talking to my grandma the other day, and she mentioned that my brother had brought her and grandpa orange chicken from Panda Express.

and that was it. I needed some.

I've made lemon chicken a few times in the slow cooker, and was impressed with the results. I tested out the same recipe with orange juice instead of lemonade, and guess what? Instant orange sauce, without ingesting tons of deep-fried grease or a drop of gluten. Yay!

updated 9/20/09: I've heard from a few readers that 1 tablespoon of salt is too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly. xoxo steph

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

The Verdict.

Delicious. All four of us had seconds. Like I did with the lemon chicken, I sprinkled some red pepper flakes onto my portion, because I like a bit of heat. Everyone else at the table ate it as-is, and was quite happy.

Do you think it would be okay to brown the chicken the night before and then put it on the next morning. Would you have to cook it all the way through? I love slow cooking, especially after a long day when you're tempted to grab something on the way home, but you don't have to because dinner's already done. I just don't really have time for too much prep in the mornings (don't judge... I need that extra 5 minutes of sleep).I love your blog and check it religiously for new recipes. I also pimp it out any time I hear questions about GF or slowcooking in general.

Infant B., yes, I do think rice flour or cornstarch would work just fine. The flour is just to coat the chicken to help provide a bit of a crust when browned, and to thicken the sauce a bit.

Cooking Like a Frugalite, the food will cook just fine, but the sauce might not be as orange-y. If you have orange zest in the house you might want to add some after you give a taste-test to the sauce.

I can't tell you how excited I am to make this!! I LOVE orange chicken and have yet to find a recipe that really tastes good. I love, love, love the lemon chicken so I am so looking forward to this. I'm making this tomorrow instead of stir fry, I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I made this tonight and it is beyond good. We love orange chicken, but I stay away from Chinese restaurants/fast food because MSG gives me migraines. But forget Chinese restaurants now that I have this recipe. Thank you thank you!

Do you have any recommendations, if all I have is a larger slower (I think it's 5.5 quarts)? Would it be best to increase the amount of chicken and sauce? Or make it as is and reduce the cooking time?Thanks!

My GF son would gladly trade his little brother for some Panda Express orange chicken. He will be ecstatic when I make this recipe for him. I've had success with all of your recipes...to the point that my kids talk about the "Crockpot Lady" like you live next door. Thanks as always!

Yummy! This was DELICIOUS! I like orange (and lemon) chicken but I never order it in most restaurants because it seems you always end up with a plate of fried chicken fat and parts and it is so heavy and...well, fried. This was perfect and my family ate it up, asked for seconds, and licked their plates clean. I used a larger crock and cooked it for a little less time. It came out marvelously.

the sauce will work just fine with tofu. WHen I slow cook tofu, I like to shake it in some cornstarch first, then fry in butter until it's got a nice crisp on it. Then slow cook on low for about 3 hours. Tofu doesn't take long to cook. here are some other slow cooker tofu recipes I've done on the site.

Stephanie-Can you come up with a reliable recipe for crock pot brown rice, please? It takes so much longer to cook; it would be very nice to just have it simmer along with the "fake out take out" recipes!! Thanks...You're the coolest, and have revived my crock pot cooking to even cooking for a grad student son, and soldiers going and coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. With the meal in the crock pot, you can really enjoy your company, plus send home a takeout box, as there's enough for everyone!! Thank you!!

Brilliant, Steph! Thank you as always. It's nice to read other great reviews here from folks who've already made it, too. As soon as we get back in chicken mode, I'll be making this one. (We're having chicken enchilada casserole this evening and that will last for a few days and then we'll need to switch to something other than chicken.)

I second that comment about the "crock pot lady" as if you were a neighbor except I like to add the possessive pronoun "my crock pot lady" ;-0

I made this last night and it did taste exceptional, but it started to burn around the edges just an hour into cooking. I have long thought my crock runs hot so from the start I add an extra 1/2 cup of water. Any other thoughts?

lol, Kerrie! If your cooker is too big for the amount of food you have in there, the food has more of a chance to burn. Also, if your cooker releases a lot of condensation it can burn (you can rectify this by putting down a layer of foil, then the lid---careful of steam when removing the foil!)If you truly think that it's the pot, then please contact the manufacturer directly. They all have 800 numbers and websites----and will give you a water test to check the temperature.

Made it tonight and it was so easy and delish! I am cleaning out my crockpot to start another batch to take to work tomorrow!! Do you think it's ok to throw in some carrots, onion and red pepper the last 30?? Just wanted to add a few veggies!

My goodness this looks amazing! My family will be so happy...they love orange chicken! I finally broke down and bought some frozen orange chicken, but the cost is big for such small portions and I don't even want to know what they make it from!

I had considered orange chicken in this very manner after I had such success with your AWESOME lemon chicken recipe, but you beat me to it! Thanks for test-driving it. I look forward to trying it myself. And I can't wait for your book... Christmas in October!!!

ThankyouTHANKYOU!I made it the easy cheaters way with frozen foods I had stashed. Breaded chicken nuggets (20), stirfry veg (2 cups). Not only did it taste really good, but I have leftover "stayin." Made MY mouth happy!

You can use any vinegar for any other, with just slight taste variances.

I made a double recipe of this tonight, and The Orange Chicken was a BIG hit!! Quite delicious!

I also attempted and successfully made Brown Rice in the crock pot today. I did heat the broth first (you could use water), and then stirred in the rice, let it cook on high about 2 hours, came to check on it, and it was perfect fluffy brown rice. Yum!

For measurements, I used 1 quart of Thai curry broth, 2 15 oz. cans of garlic flavored chicken broth, and a cup of water, all heated and placed in crock. I then stirred in a 1# 12 oz. package of brown rice, and stirred, then walked away from it. In 2 hours, it was perfect brown rice. It could not have been easier. You could use all water for the broth in the rice. It would take about 9 cups of water for that package of brown rice, and don't forget to toss in a bit of salt.

I purposely made extras pf the rice to go in DH's lunch...I make ahead a 5# package of ground turkey into taco meat, let it cool a bit, then spoon by 1/3 cup fulls into quart freezer bags, squeeze out all the air until they are straight little bricks and freeze. For his lunch, I smear a large tortilla with refried beans, sprinkle on a bit of rice, sprinkle on some grated cheese, add a frozen taco stick, and wrap it all up, using wax paper to put around the burrito. With the wax paper, DH can then microwave his treat at work, and re-heat if he gets too buy to eat right then!

I made this last night. It was starting to burn, so I tried the foil trick and that seemed to help. My husband even liked the burned part. I forgot to put in the salt, so I added a bit at the end (maybe 1/2 to 1 teaspoon) and it was fine.

Ok I tried this and it smelled amazing when I was mixing it, but then it burned beyond the point where we could even eat it. I have a regular old, white Rival crockpot and left it on low for 5 hours when I found it burned. I have this problem a low with this crock pot. Is there something I can do to help it not burn? Unless something has a lot of liquid in it, it always burns in my crockpot. Help please!

I think your slow cooker is too big for the amount of food you routinely put in it. That's okay, you just need to put down a layer of foil near the food to trap in steam or moisture, or insert an oven-safe dish into the crock to create a smaller cooking vessel.

FANTASTIC! Got a big thumbs up from my husband. I can't wait to try the tofu...any recs of adapting to beef and shrimp? My husband loves orange______ whenever we go out for Chinese, so this is going to save us a lot of money!

the beef should cook the same way as the chicken, but for shrimp, it'd be best to not cook it very long. Shrimp doesn't take very long to cook, I'd check it after about 1-2 hours, depending on whether or not it's fresh or frozen.

I tried this last night. I had the same problem with it cooking too fast. My crockpot must be more than four quarts. I and my DB thought this was a great dish. Next time I will double it, so I can take some for lunch. Thanks for the recipe. It's going in my rotation.

Maybe it's just us, but it was REALLY orange flavored. I think that if I did this again, I'd use regular orange juice or half the amount of concentrate and some water to make up the different. We needed lots of rice to tone down the flavor.

This is the first recipe of yours I have tried, and it was DELICIOUS! I love orange chicken, but like others have said, it's either very fattening take-out, or questionable frozen food. Definitely making this one again, and can't wait to try your other recipes!

Maybe it's just me (based on all the great comments) but this tasted WAY too orangy for me. I used 1/2 the can of concentrate but if I made it again I'd use just a tablespoon or use regular orange juice and some orange zest. It tasted like orange juice concentrate in a bowl. I used almost 2 lbs of chicken too.

I finally got around to making this tonight and it was awesome. I gave you a big thumbs up in my blog and wanted to give you the link (for credit purposes...don't feel obligated to peruse since it's kind of a boring blog). Thank you for the recipe! :)

Oh. My. Gosh. I made this for dinner tonight. It was AWESOME!!!! And easy! I will be making it AGAIN!I made just as is in the recipe - I have kosher salt so I was good there, too. FABULOUS! I wouldn't change a thing.Thank you!!!

I made this the other night and it was good! I added some of those frozen Trader Joe's green beans about 20 min before we were going to eat (because I was too busy to cook them separately as I originally planned) and it was convenient, but I think maybe they altered the sauce taste a bit. I used heaping tablespoons of brown sugar and thought maybe I should have added more to make it sweeter, but I also think we are too accustomed to the sweet Panda Express sauce.

I am not much of a cook. I came across this recipe via someone on a message board who has made many of your recipes. I just put it in my crock pot and I tried the sauce that was left in the bowl I mixed it in...wow! I'm pretty sure this is going to become a favorite! It's soooo simple and easy, even a non-cook like me could handle it! I love this site. I did however use more chicken and ended up doubling up on the sauce and I hope that doesn't mess anything up. But I can't wait to try this. I'm 8 months pregnant and chinese good has been a huge craving!

Hi! Just made this last night and MY was it orangey! I noticed someone else commented on the orangey-ness and after thinking about it, I decided that next time I will cut the orange in half and add some soy, garlic and make the red pepper flakes a requirement.

That being said, I totally dig your site and have been pointing friends to it for the past year! The cookbook's on my Christmas list!

I made this and it was great. However, I have a 3 quart cooker and the recipe said 4 quart, so I cut everything by 1/3 and made it. Actually, the full recipe would have fit in the 3 quart. I'm having a few people over on Saturday. I might make this again, full recipe this time!!

I just found your blog and it looks so yummy! I can't wait to try some of these. I saw someone said that using OJ didn't give them great results, but I live overseas and frozen OJ concentrate is not readily available. Do you think if I added some orange zest it would help in using the OJ and not a concentrate?

I am so sad! I have a 5 - 6.5 SC. I tried this recipe and did the foil thing, I even put two layers of foil. I had to go out, and when I came back 5 hours later it was burned around the edges and it totally messed up the flavor. I will try the smaller oven safe dish next time. I really want to be able to make orange chicken at home!

I was directed to your site by my SIL and found this recipe to try out in my new slow cooker. It was easy to make, but I found the sauce much more ketchupy than orangey and the chicken was DRY! Next time I think I'll make a marinade with the orange concentrate, garlic and soy sauce and marinate the chicken overnight to tenderize it. Then I'll strain the sauce and add the rest of the ingredients and fry the chicken. Or I'll try it with chicken thighs. Will have a look through the other recipes on your site - hopefully I'll have better luck next time!

I was really excited to try this recipe, but it did not turn out. I have not used a slow cooker very often so maybe I did something wrong. The stuff in the cooker looked like mush. All of the breading came off the chicken and soaked into the sauce. My husband thought it tasted good, it just did not look good! What did I do wrong?

OMG!! Soooo yummy! I was given your website by a co-worker and started surfing around it yesterday. I am so excited to try these recipes, the first one I picked was the orange chicken because it's my husbands absolute favorite when we go to Panda Express and I'm always looking for a recipe I can duplicate at home. We all loved it, the only thing that I'm going to add is more red pepper flake during the cooking, I like a little more heat than the rest of the family so I just added a tad in the beginning, but you couldn't even taste it when it was done, so I'll be upping that amount a bit, but even though it didn't have the kick that I crave, it was wonderful and there's enough for both my husband and I to take to work for lunch tomorrow, even after feeding our family of 5 tonight. Love it!

I've made this a dozen times. Super easy and really good. I've read a lot of comments on here about the chicken turning out dry and the sauce being burnt. if that's the case then cook it for a shorter period. I've had the same problems and I only cook mine for 4 hours on low. 6 hours it turns out dry and burnt, its still good but not as good. I use 2 breasts and I have a 6qt slow cooker, that's way too big for this I know but that's all I have.

Not sure if I burnt the sauce or what, but mine was not so great. The chicken was nice and tender, which was good, but comparing it to regular fried orange chicken it did not do so well in my book. I tossed the leftovers unfortunately. But luckily I had a pot of chili in my other crock pot for meals for the rest of the week!

This was great. I am gluten free and was searching for a way to use up some chicken breasts that I had in my freezer. I made this today and my whole family (not gluten free) enjoyed it! Even my Dad who does not like Chinese food was pleased. Easy and tastes great!

I found this recipe to be quite good. I modified it a little bit. I used bitter orange marinade in loo of the OJ and I did not flour my chicken. I did put the sauce into a simmering pot once it was cooked and added a wee bit of cornstarch to thicken it up and served it all over a bed of fried rice. FANTASTIC.

I was craving a recipe like this so today I googled "slow cooker orange chicken" and your blog and recipe came up. It sounded amazing! I just tasted what had been slow cooking all day and it's so bitter. It smells and looks great but it's like the orange juice went bad or something. Did I do something wrong? It was pulp free concentrate btw.

Last night the kids asked when I would make the orange chicken again. Well, I made it today and I think we enjoyed it more this time. I think it is going to be a regular. My family loves Chinese food but my husband is diabetic. This is a great make at home recipe that satisfies everyone.

New to gluten free cooking. I cook for another family once a week that's gluten free. I have some rice flour I bought for something else, would that work to coat the chicken in instead of buying Pamela's? Thanks!

Hi Mom24,Yes. Absolutely you can use the rice flour. I use Pamela's for cup to cup translation in regular recipes (baking, mostly) because it has baking soda and xanthum gum in it, which helps with rising and binding. It has almond meal in it----if you do use it for baking for the family, make sure they are okay with tree nuts.

Jenny-I've doubled the recipe, and it fit in my 7 quart crock pot just fine. If your crock isn't full, the food will cook (or heaven forbid....burn!), so check it often. This recipe is really worth the effort, and a real treat!!Happy Cooking!!

I doubled this recipe and made it tonight with some basmati rice, and it was a huge hit. It was delicious, not too terrible for you, kid's liked it and it was waaay cheaper than takeout fore the whole family. Thanks for the recipe!

This was really great for my first crock pot diner. I doubled it because we have a house full of huge men, and it did come out a little too "orange-y" so I think next time I will cut back a little on the concentrate or use actual juice. Aside from that is was still pretty good. Thank you. :)

I am not sure what I did wrong, but I was so disappointed in myself. :( I'm not a very good cook so I'm not sure what went wrong. After an hour in the crock pot (on high) it was starting to burn so I turned it to low. About four hours later, it was still burning really badly and most of the chicken was literally turning to shreds (I'm assuming I cut the pieces too small). The saved pieces just tasted dry and like orange juice concentrate. I do have a big crockpot (not exactly sure how big, but I'm guessing between 4-5 quarts) so that might also have played a part in it...and I added about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it even more. Perhaps that thickened it too much? The sauce tasted delicious before I poured it over the chicken, though!

this is a great blog! First time to visit, will definitely check out the other recipes! Question tho -- is there a way for me to cook this orange chicken (or any other recipe)in 11 hours instead of 6? (11 hours is my 9-hour work + daily commute...) i have scoured the web, and the longer-hour recipes are quite limited to pulled pork etc. Thanks!

Hi summer,you're right, in that the dishes that fill your pot up completely, or that use a rather tough piece of meat have the longer cooking time. If you plan on slow cooking often during your work day, I'd recommend upgrading to a programmable pot so the food doesn't dry out or get burnt on you. This way the pot automatically flips to a warm setting after the 6 hour (etc) cooking time. These are the pots that I recommend: http://stephanieodea.com/store/

I hope this helps a bit. If you have other questions go ahead and email or find me on facebook.

1. I followed your directions perfectly, but noticed that after only an hour on high in the crock pot, the chicken is basically cooked! Is that normal? I am basically using a crock pot for the first time...

2. While the idea is pretty great, I'm sad to say that it just sort of tastes like chicken soaked in orange juice. Really sweet orange juice that is...any suggestions?

Thanks so much! Excited to continue to start trying all your other recipes!

My wife had cut up some chicken into cubes and already lightly browned them in the skillet to make a persian tomato meal we always make when I came up with the idea to make orange chicken as we've once done before. I looked up recipes when this one caught my eye. It seemed different than all the others in that there wasn't any deep frying, oil, or heavy breading. It was easy; set it and forget it. Came back 3 hours later and dinner was served! Nice orange taste-not as bad as others here mentioned. Although I would probably use 1/4 can instead of 1/2 and add some soy sauce next time. After all how can you make a chinese dish like orange chicken without soy sauce? All in all, it was very tasty ('lick the plate' good) and we'll definitely make it again. Thanks!

I found this blog and recipe recently during a Google search. I regularly use my slow cooker with great success, but this did not turn out. ..wasn't edible. My hubby and I were both at work for the 6 hours cooking time, and when we came home the entire contents of the pot were burnt : ( I will definitely try this again though because of all the rave reviews, but I am thinking 2 to 3 hours on low is all the time required to cook the meal, otherwise I am sure another option would be to bake it in the oven.

I was hoping to add some frozen broccoli and maybe some pineapple chunks. Do you think that'd be good? And when do you think would be a good time to add the broccoli and pineapple, only the broccoli's frozen. :) Thank you!

Hi Ashley, I would recommend running the frozen broccoli package under hot water to mostly thaw it, then add it to the pot, taking care to not dribble in lots of liquid from the packaging.My worry is that the frozen ice particles will water down your sauce -- I'd think the broccoli would be heated through in about an hour, and would add it to the last hour of cooking time, and that's a good time for the drained pineapple chunks, too!